In this perceptive look at the factors behind the rise and fall of
civilizations, Professor Quigley seeks to establish the analytical
tools necessary for understanding history. He examines the application
of scientific method to the social sciences, then establishes his
historical hypotheses. He poses a division of culture into six levels,
from the more abstract to the more concreteâintellectual, religious,
social, political, economic, and militaryâand he identifies seven
stages of historical change for all civilizations: mixture, gestation,
expansion, conflict, universal empire, decay, and invasion. Quigley
tests these hypotheses by a detailed analysis of five major civilizations:
the Mesopotamian, the Canaanite, the Minoan, the classical, and
the Western.

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